The fire began in an attached garage after months of marital conflict and a divorce filing, say police.
GREENVILLE, Wis. — A woman escaped a midnight fire at her Greenville home after a cat woke her as smoke moved through the house, a moment police say led to charges against her estranged husband.
The March 19 fire on Fawn Ridge Court is now part of a criminal case against Nicholas Grundman, 47, who is accused of trying to kill his estranged wife by setting fire to the garage attached to the home where she was sleeping. Grundman faces charges that include attempted first-degree intentional homicide, arson, stalking, criminal damage to property and carrying a concealed weapon. He has been ordered to stand trial in Outagamie County.
The woman told investigators she had been fast asleep when one of her cats started pawing at her face. She woke to smoke inside the home and quickly learned the fire was in the attached garage. She later told police, “Within seconds, my house was full of smoke.” Authorities said she was the only person in the house. She got out safely with three cats and two dogs, then used a fire extinguisher on the flames. The fire damaged her car and personal property that belonged to her son, but no injuries were reported.
Firefighters and deputies were called shortly after midnight. At first, the response centered on a residential garage fire. The Village of Greenville Fire Department began examining where and how the fire started. The Outagamie County Sheriff’s Office and the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation later assisted. Investigators said the fire did not appear to be accidental. They found signs that an accelerant had been used and noted the presence of lighter fluid at the scene, according to the criminal complaint.
The woman’s home had also been the center of a recent separation. She told police she filed for divorce in February after about a year and a half of marriage. Before that filing, she said she told Grundman to leave in January after coming home to find him intoxicated and newly unemployed. She described him to police as someone whose drinking and inability to keep a job had caused problems in the marriage. After he left, she said, she paid for a hotel and then an Airbnb, but he later left that rental and she lost track of where he was staying.
The complaint says the separation did not end the contact. The woman told police Grundman began calling and texting at a pace she described as close to harassment, with calls allegedly coming about every 30 minutes through the night. On the day of the fire, she called him and told him to stop contacting her. Investigators said he responded with a threatening statement before ending the call. When police later asked whether she feared him, she said, “Absolutely.” Prosecutors used those allegations as part of the stalking count filed with the arson and attempted homicide charges.
The arrest came nearly two weeks after the fire. Police found Grundman on March 31 at a construction site where he was working. Officers said he had a backpack with a loaded Ruger Security-9 handgun. The woman told police the handgun had been taken from the house when Grundman left. The weapons allegation became a separate charge of carrying a concealed weapon. Officials have not said that the gun was used in the fire, but they listed it among the circumstances surrounding his arrest.
During questioning, investigators said Grundman gave shifting answers. He said he was not “technically” at the house, then told police he had been “being stupid.” He said he had a habit of driving by the home to see if his wife had someone over. He described the night before the fire as one of his “driving around days” and told police he had been drinking heavily. Investigators said his voice shook during part of the interview. Asked whether he still had access to the garage, he lowered his head and said yes, according to the complaint.
Police said Grundman then admitted entering the garage and using gasoline. The complaint says he described taking gasoline from a red container on a garage shelf, putting some near a refrigerator and more near a workbench along the wall. He said he used a lighter to start the fire, investigators wrote. Grundman also told police he felt remorse and felt terrible about what happened. He denied trying to kill his wife, a denial that now sits against the state’s attempted homicide charge.
The legal path moved quickly after charges were filed. Grundman appeared in court April 6, and a judge set bond at $1 million cash. Prosecutors filed multiple felony counts tied to the fire, the alleged stalking and property damage. At a preliminary hearing later in April, an officer testified about the investigation. The court found enough evidence for the case to continue and ordered Grundman to stand trial. His arraignment was scheduled for May 5.
The case remains unresolved, and the court process will test the state’s evidence. Prosecutors will have to show not only that the fire was intentionally set, but also that the facts support the more serious accusation that Grundman tried to kill the woman inside. Defense arguments have not been fully laid out in public reports reviewed for this story. The complaint says Grundman admitted setting the fire but denied an intent to kill, a key dispute likely to matter as the case moves forward.
Officials have released few details about the woman beyond her account to police. She was not named in the available reports. Her pets survived, and the fire was contained before it caused greater damage to the house. The criminal complaint, however, describes a narrow escape from smoke in a home where the garage was attached to the living area. Investigators also tied the timing of the fire to the same day the woman told Grundman to stop contacting her.
Nicholas Grundman remained in the court process after the preliminary hearing, with the case moving toward arraignment. The next step was scheduled for May 5 in Outagamie County Circuit Court.
Author note: Last updated April 28, 2026.